The present invention relates generally to hand tools for chopping and splitting wood and relates more particularly to a wood splitting maul having a novel head shape which facilitates log splitting.
The rapidly escalating costs and periodic shortages of conventional home heating fuels such as oil and natural gas have given rise to a greatly increased consumption of firewood, burned both in fireplaces and in wood burning stoves. Although commercially cut and split firewood is available, the cost has risen to the point that in many areas it is comparable to the cost of the conventional fuels. Accordingly, many homeowners have taken to cutting and splitting their own logs. Although chain saws in small sizes can be purchased rather cheaply, powered equipment for splitting logs is too expensive to be within reach of the average homeowner. The basic hand tools available for the splitting operation accordingly remain the wedge and sledge, or the splitting maul. A conventional wood chopping axe is not suitable for splitting logs of any size because of its light weight and thin blade which tends to become buried in the wood before producing any splitting effect.
The use of wedges and a sledge hammer to split wood is a time honored method which normally requires a number of sledge strokes and a considerable degree of skill. The use of wedges can be frustrating due to the tendency of the wedges to follow a course other than that desired and further because of their tendency to be swallowed by certain types of wood before the log splits in two. It is accordingly sometimes necessary to use a number of wedges to split a single log and, when the log finally does split, the wedges can fly out in unpredictable directions. There is also a tendency in some woods for the wedge to remain stuck in a section of the log even after the log has split, necessitating a further operation to recover the wedge.
The splitting maul has gained favor in recent years since it is easier to use than the wedge and sledge and does not require as much accuracy. Although the splitting maul can become lodged in a partially split log, the long handle makes removal a simple matter. The maul is not as well suited for extremely large logs as the sledge with multiple wedges, but is generally superior for splitting smaller logs, for example those of 10 inches in diameter and less. For smaller logs, the splitting maul is not only easier to use, but is considerably faster than the wedge and sledge.
In the case of either an axe, wedge, or splitting maul, in order for the wood to yield to initiate a splitting action, the entering edge of the splitting element must be relatively thin and sharp. However, once this entering edge has initiated a splitting of the wood, much of the energy of the splitting stroke of the implement is dissipated in the frictional drag of the implement as the faces thereof descend into the log without greatly increasing the width of the split. As a result, the initial splitting stroke using either a wedge, a splitting maul, or with thinner stock, an axe, often produces only a partial split with the splitting element lodged securely in the partially split log.
In an effort to convert more of the downwardly directed energy of the splitting element into the lateral separation of the halves of the log being split, a novel splitting axe has recently been developed utilizing a pair of opposed pivotally mounted jaws which engage the opposite portions of the logs after the cutting edge of the axe has penetrated partway thereinto to initiate the split. The jaws are pivotally mounted in such a fashion that the axe blade cannot bury itself in the log since the jaws will substantially arrest the downward movement and convert the energy of the axe head into lateral thrust, splitting the log into two portions.
Although the splitting axe utilizing the pivoted jaws works effectively, it is a relatively expensive device in view of the several moving parts involved and the need to secure the parts with suitable pivot pins. Furthermore, the moving parts will in time wear or possibly break, requiring replacement. Additionally, the splitting axe is difficult to use with extremely dense woods such as oak, since the jaws may engage the end of the log before any splitting tendency of the log has been achieved by the axe cutting edge, in which event the axe will simply bounce back without initiating any splitting action.